easy roasted potatoes: building blocks of a side dish...

If you're working on building your recipe repertoire, the best way is to start with the basics and build upon them. My dad has been making this roasted potatoes recipe for years. The first time he made it for us was the first time my now-husband (last name: O'Brien) came to visit my parents, thus O'Brien Potatoes were born. They have only a few ingredients, take no time to make and can be easily modified for more jazzed up side dishes. 

The basic recipe includes:

• Potatoes (1 for each person you're serving)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Butter
• Salt 
• Pepper
• Garlic salt
• Onion powder

Next cut up the potatoes into small cubes. O'Brien Potatoes are made with the skin on, but you can certainly make them without the skin.

Put them in a bowl and cover with a couple tablespoons of EVOO, salt and pepper to your taste, 2 shakes of garlic salt and 3 shakes of onion power. Toss a with a spoon, put the lid on and....

shake, shake, shake until the potatoes are completely coated. 

Then put them in the fridge and let them rest for about 30 minutes to an hour. 

Remove from the fridge and pour them on a baking sheet and put them in a 375 degree preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. Flip after 15 minutes so they cook evenly. The cooking time will depend on the size of your potatoes and how crispy you want them. Just keep an eye on them. 

And that, my friends, is how you make basic roasted "O'Brien Potatoes"– a surefire hit for any meal.  But why stop there? The beauty of this recipe is that it can be adapted a number of ways based on the flavors you like best. 

The night I made this recipe, I actually added paprika for a little kick. 

A few other options you might enjoy are:

Rosemary and thyme 

Parmesan

Oregano and lemon

Roasted red pepper flakes

A couple Tablespoons of your favorite BBQ sauce

Sweet potatoes with nutmeg, cumin, cinnamon and brown sugar

All you do is add your chosen flavor in when you're "shake, shake, shaking" your ingredients together. If you feel it needs some more, just add a few shakes over the top before you put them in the oven. 

Another way to jazz them up is to cut your potatoes into interesting shapes: crinkle cut, spheres, whatever strikes your fancy. Have fun with it! 

Now that you have the basics, try out different variations. They are potatoes, they taste good with everything, so you can mess them up. Let me know what interesting combinations you come up with!